WebQuests are a feature of the educational process whose time has more than come in the education system. We have jumped the chasm between the chalkboard and the computer screen and now have to negotiate how best to help the learner.
I found the project approach in the earlier activities useful, if not immediately applicable to my own situation. I think it would need time and willingness from all quarters to implement. Time and experience have taught me the adage of working smarter, not harder. It might prove challenging to convince people that the initial heavy input is offset by the rest of the process.
Of course, in my school, issues of compatible infrastructure have to be dealt with. None of my present classes were fortunate enough to receive the government-issued laptops, so their cumulative ICT skills may be somewhat spotty, and access to a system outside of school may very well be problematic. Nationwide, there is a competition open to all schools called 'The Young Leaders'. This does have elements of a project based approach at first thought. However, this generally takes place outside of regular classroom hours. I have seen projects flounder due to lack of sustained interest or other cause like the aforementioned lack of infrastructure. Other interested parties may find this discouraging, especially when the schools who do win prizes do not suffer the same drawbacks.
WebQuests have the innate characteristic of engaging students on a number of levels and making them aware of events in a way they would not have been normally-as in 'Industrial
Revolution'. I think that this is one of the most important characteristics of WebQuests-that the students are able to deal with the real world in a way that enables them to engage critical faculties and still earn credit for them-like 'Extra, Extra!'. I also like the ways in which the student is allowed to be both reflective and creative. School, therefore, becomes a place in which life is experienced in an increasingly more relevant way.
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